Memorable Punishments: A Closer Look at McCain's Early Memories

John Sydney McCain, III, the presumptive Republican nominee for President of the United States in the upcoming 2008 presidential election, was actually born in the Panama Canal Zone, where his naval officer father was stationed in 1936.

Reared as the middle child of three, McCain spent his childhood on various naval postings in the United States and in the Pacific, altogether attending about 20 schools. Said to be a competitive kid with a drive to prevail, McCain demonstrated a quick temper and a reputation for run-ins with higher-ups, possibly leading to his low class rank (894/899). Nevertheless, McCain graduated from the naval academy and interestingly became a naval pilot of attack aircraft. No doubt his family was proud, given that his grandfather and his father (John Sydney McCain and John Sydney McCain, Jr.) were the first pair of father/son Four Star Admirals in the United States Navy. In fact, both of McCain's early memories reference a naval officer.

John McCain’s two early memories contain other similarities as well. Both involve anger; both reference an explosion; both include a naval officer who is sharing information; both include a surprise attack, as well as an act of war, water, the loss of control, abandonment, a reference to black, and teaching someone a lesson.

Thus, we learn a great deal about John McCain from his two memories, most significantly that his worldview is anger empowers. To be sure, even as young as two-years-old, McCain is experiencing “anger power” within himself. Imagine how intensely angry one has to feel in order to hold one’s breath until passing out. Perhaps we now have a glimpse into the steely reserve of a man capable of enduring torture at the hands of the North Vietnamese.

And this is to say nothing of his parents’ response to their son’s brand of temper tantruming. At the suggestion of a naval officer (in the military, doctors are officers), his parents attempt to take control of their son’s anger by blind-siding him with ice cold water; in effect, not unlike the Japanese blind-sided the Americans at Pearl Harbor. In each incident, a surprise attack involving being "bombed" into the water is intended to show who has the upper hand ... now!?

In his parents’ defense, however, we must consider the nature of parenting in 1938. Children were to be seen and not heard and certainly, children were not considered social equals: Equals in the sense of deserving equal dignity and respect. The fear was that if children were allowed to do as they pleased, the result would be a houseful of tyrants, resulting in anarchy!

In a military home in which parents live by the rule of hierarchy, we can only imagine McCain’s parents’ complete and unrelenting intolerance for a temper tantrum. Even today, most parents do not understand that children are never aware of the motive behind their behavior. Children don’t reason out their social problems consciously. Rather, they act from an inner motivation and learn by trial and error. Children are expert observers, but they make many mistakes in interpreting what they observe. They often draw wrong conclusions and choose mistaken ways in which to find their place in society… as did two-year-old McCain when he passed out one time after holding his breath while angry. The response he received from his concerned parents strongly reinforced his mistaken strategy for regaining a sense of power… and the rest is history, as reported by his early memory.

By the way, it is worth noting that during childhood, a child must make adjustments to and learn how to handle both his inner and his outer environment. McCain’s hereditary endowment is his “inner” environment (i.e., a quick temper), and his “outer” environment includes his family atmosphere, his birth order, and as already mentioned, the nature of parenting at the time of his upbringing.

Keep in mind, therefore, that McCain was reared as a middle child – an often rather difficult position. In a family of three children, the second child, who once had the distinction of being the baby, has been dethroned and is now the middle child. He suddenly discovers that he doesn’t have the advantage of being older, nor does he any longer have the privilege of being the baby – resulting in a feeling of being slighted and abused. He has the impression that life and people are unfair, and he may be provocative in order to feel even more justified in his assumptions. It is well-documented that McCain has gone to great lengths to create himself as a unique person – seeming to take pride in going against the majority when possible and frequently doing the unexpected.

For example, after being taken prisoner of war in October 1967, McCain had the opportunity to be released in 1968. McCain’s father was named commander of all U.S. forces in the Vietnam theater in July 1968. Immediately, McCain was offered early release; however, he turned down the offer of repatriation, saying he would only accept if every man taken before him was released as well. Romantically speaking, at least, a captain doesn’t leave the ship until all his men are safe ashore. In reality, of course, the captain is often the first to shore. Nevertheless, McCain’s spent five and a half years as a prisoner of war, later becoming a celebrity of sorts as the most well-knowned returning POW to date.

Needless to say, because so much of McCain’s personal identity is connected to his war experiences, as well as to those of his father and grandfather, it is not surprising that McCain would romanticize war and be tolerant, for example, of staying the course in Iraq for a really long time.

We note that in one of his earliest memories, a naval officer informs the family that the Japanese have bombed Pearl Harbor, after which McCain’s father is rarely seen by his family for four years. Thus from the time McCain is in kindergarten (age 5) until the fourth grade (age 9), war is foremost in his family’s mind – and in the minds of all the people with whom their family associates. In time, therefore, war becomes tolerable, even comfortable - the expected.

And today, as the saying goes, you can take the man out of the war, but you can’t take war out of the man. In McCain’s earliest memories, we find both the presence of war within him and throughout his history. With a worldview that says anger empowers, voters will take note of a clear preference for war, as well as a preference for showing force and for extolling the virtues of a military presence, making McCain an ideal choice for the Republican party’s nominee for the U. S. Presidency. (Note: To read the two earliest memories on which this review is based, see the post below, dated Friday, March 28, 2008.)